Forsta AP Fonden Sells 1,400 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 168,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in American Express were worth $49,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $6,046,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 122,225 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $36,275,000 after buying an additional 2,039 shares in the last quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 10,983 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 45,422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $13,481,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $326,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.50.

American Express Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $317.24 on Wednesday. American Express has a 52-week low of $199.07 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $303.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.27. The company has a market capitalization of $223.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

American Express Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.